Monday, November 25, 2013

Audience Front and Center

This week, an article from New Music Box, “Audience Cultivation in American Music,” by Sam
Hillmer, discusses elements of the rift in popularity between new classical
music, or modern art music, and do-it-yourself underground groups and bands.
The author makes the case that the reason that new art music has not appeared
to gain younger audiences is that new music as a whole has fractured into many
subgenres, each with a small but exclusive following. Although mixing genres in
the same concert has been proposed as a solution to the rifts, the cultural and
practical differences in performance linked to each genre still serve as a
barrier to increased audiences. This is interesting because, unlike other
complaints about new music which focus on the aesthetic qualities of the sound,
this article asserts that the problem is one of culture rather than taste.

Hillmer details the differences often found in the various
types of new music experiences. For example, one might go to a concert and be
expected to sit quietly in a darkened theater in order to focus on listening.
But if one instead goes to a show, they might expect standing room only,
socialization, drinks, and perhaps encouraged or even required audience
participation that might determine the show’s overall success. New art music
can be played at both of these venues, but the general audience experience is
vastly different. Hillmer highlights similar discrepancies in new music with
bands versus ensembles, venues versus concert halls, and even financial and marketing
practices in institutions versus DIY communities.

Rather than lobby for one method over the other, the author
says that both types of communities have their strengths and weaknesses.The institutionalized groups know how to make
money, and the DIY groups know how to encourage audience enthusiasm.Both could benefit from learning from each
other, or better yet, working together. According to the author, new music
scenes in other countries are much better at melding the two communities than
the divided audiences of the United States.

I think this article is refreshing in its focus on the how
and why of performances rather than the supposedly hopeless state of so-called
inaccessible modern music. Having been to new music events as both formal
concerts and less formal shows curated by bands, I do believe that the
experience of the informal band is more attractive to younger audiences. The
encouragement of participation is exciting, and followers can become fans of a
specific band, supporting it in its future endeavors and serving as an
advertisement to others. While there is nothing wrong with the traditional
setting that holds the composition high above the performance and audience
experience, I also feel that we as a music community can benefit from some new
music that feels more welcoming.